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Thursday, January 15, 2015

So as I count down in reverse order the top 5 reasons I no longer engage animal rights activists and vegans we arrive at blog post number 3. For a review, number 5 was I support food choices and number 4 was the incessant anger. Numbers, when we think about it numbers are a very big part of our lives. Just in the course of a day there are so many numbers that I am focused on. What is the temperature outside?

What is the price of diesel fuel at the Indian reservation store?

How many RPMS am I pulling up this hill,? Do those calves weigh 500 pounds or closer to 550? Where did I put the phone number of that really sexy barrel racer? Ok, that last one isn't true, but I do have the number of a 4 time married, Marlboro smoking, former 1982 rodeo queen (this part has not been confirmed) that wants to come help gather cattle sometime, and that isn't for nothin! The point is numbers MATTER and is exactly why crazed animal rights activists and vegans do NOT matter. Well wait I am already going to change that, SOME numbers matter.

Remember that numbers are only as good as the source that provides them and the context of those numbers. The ARA vegan community will proudly tell you that their numbers are increasing! Yes, wonderful, if they continue to increase at the current rate the whole world will be vegan in about 278.391 Billion years. Admittedly, I am using just 1 source here, but clearly the number of vegans is still very small. This is why they are so shrill and angry. They know that the only way anyone hears them is to scream very loud.They really are insignificant! There is a reason that there is a McDonalds and not a Veganonalds.

Here is another number that matters. In the last 24 hours, one global revolution, the number of people needing to eat increased by 189,985 mouths. I am pretty confident many of those will choose to eat meat protein if given the chance. (This is a fun site by the way http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/

Let me put this in perspective from a cowman logic perspective. If Mike the meat eater has 2 flat tires and Vincent the vegan has 1 flat tire who will travel the most miles in a day? Well, at first glance you would think Vincent. However, when you discover Mike has 2 flats on 2 outside duals of his semi trailer tandem and Vincent has 1 flat on his unicycle things change. Not to mention the fact that Mike is at the tire shop and has purchased 2 new tires, while Vincent is still hoping to get enough donations to his GoFundMe account so he can buy a bag of free range, certified green raised, organic, GMO free quinoa, yet alone afford a new tire.

Detractors will point to the fact that individual meat consumption in the USA is declining. This is true, however would you rather have 100 people consuming 1 pound of your product, or 300 people consuming a half pound of your product? The fact is global meat consumption is increasing and likely will continue. Notice an animal rights activist will seldom mention that we are now producing far more meat protein with far fewer animals than in previous years? Most people love the taste, nutrition density, affordability and availability of animal protein.

I want to stress again if you want to engage these people it is your choice. Personally, I choose not to. I am much more focused on being available to answer questions about what I do, how I do it, and why I do some things a certain way from people that purchase my product. To close this post I sold a few calves today. In the course of them being sold, 4 different individuals placed bids on them. I confirmed that NONE (there is a number, zero, none, nil, nada, nothing) of the bidders were vegan animal rights activists hoping to buy them and let them live forever at a sanctuary. (Just in the interest of full disclosure these calves will be put out on grass until late summer and then put in a feedlot to be finished) I mean, with so many of these people you would think at least 1 of them would care enough to put their wallet where their non consumptive mouth is? Nope! Fluff and rhetoric are very low in nutrients. Remember folks all pictures can be viewed full size by clicking on them.

Today's cowman music selection is Ed Bruce singing "Last cowboys song" This was written in 1980. It is a wonderful song, but the cowboys I engaged with today would laugh thinking any cowboy (I use this as a wide ranging term as I myself prefer to be called a stockman or cattleman) is anywhere near the last one. Things change, methods change, but raising animals in a sustainable, holistic, responsible and caring way continues and will continue. Wrap your kale around that steak baby. We ain't going anywhere.

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Anger, we all face it sometimes, sometimes it is our own anger, sometimes we see anger in others, but we all know it when we see it. I think most of us would agree that anger is a pretty ugly emotion, while also agreeing that sometimes it is a very valid response to certain issues or stimulus. Rational people would agree that if possible anger is a good emotion to try and limit or steer clear of. It is just the opposite in the animal rights activist world. Anger is celebrated and often is the primary emotion that defines their world and life. I want to give a little nod here to the vegan world vs the animal rights activists world, often two worlds that intersect. I have met some vegans that are not angry 24 hours a day 7 days a week. I have yet to meet an animal rights activist that doesn't have one of two life statuses at any given moment, pissed off or asleep.

There are many reasons constant anger is not a good idea. Constant anger probably wont help your cause with the majority of the world. They will just see you as the bitter person you are. I mean when you make comments like the above as a response to a picture of a teenage girl with her first deer the only person that is probably going to want to be around you are those studying psychopathy. I mean who wouldn't want to have a chat with these two lovely individuals just to see if they couldn't learn some valuable nugget of enlightenment?

Surely the vast majority of consumers will take what this person says as the truth and follow their lead in their food choices.

Another reason anger is so useless is because it often will keep you from making a rational and coherent argument no matter what side of an issue you are on. An example would be something like this.

ARA vegan; F*ck you killer!!

Rational person; Sorry ma'am what are you referring to?

ARA vegan; the picture of the cow you killed

Rational person; I didnt kill it, it died from sickness, and that's a horse ma'am

ARA vegan; F*ck you horse rapist! I am .000003% Native American and a horse is my spirit animal!

Rational person; That's nice, How many horses do you own?

ARA vegan; None, I never would own any animal.

Rational person; Who owns the 7 cats you are holding in your profile picture?

ARA vegan; F*ck you, you corpse munching scum, go get some mental help, you are a psychopath!!!!!! We are done here!

Alrighty then.

Often the ARA activists are angry with each other.

While this level of anger is their personal choice, it is certainly not the kind of people that I or most rational people want to be around. The vast majority find them vapid and of little value to be around. When these people understand this reality it just makes them more angry as they see that 99.9% of the world is laughing at them.

I think you get the picture. Why anyone would waste their time engaging someone with this level of anger is something I see no practical use for. As I said yesterday, you are free to engage if you wish, this is just the path I have chosen for myself. Enjoy your day folks, yes even you angry ARA activists. Maybe this will help you smile?

If that didn't help I don't know what will. That's funny right there I don't care who you are. Todays cowman music selection is from John Conlee. Lyrics like this make this an awesome song! "If you'll hand me my crayons
I'll be glad to take your name
In case I run across that guy you knew
But I don't remember loving you"

Monday, January 12, 2015

Hello blog world. Hell of a blogging year I had in 2014 eh? 3 whopping posts! I suppose 1 blog post for every $1 a pound that 400 pound calves were worth is sufficient. $*$ChaaaaaChingggg$*$! Thank You beef consumers worldwide! If I get through this series I will already have more posts in 2015 than 2014.

So for those of you not involved in agriculture or on Twitter a little background. A young Canadian farmer and dairyman started a hashtag #farm365 in an effort to connect with consumers about how things work in the food growing world. A fairly regular and sometimes heated discussion continues on Twitter using this hashtag but the animal rights activists and vegans have jumped in with their usual drama. This is what inspired this blog series of why I don't engage with the animal rights or vegan activists. This is a reverse order of the reasons that I have chosen this path for myself. I am not suggesting this is the path for all people who produce food. To each their own, engage at your own chosen level, these are just my reasons for the path I have chosen.

I sort of accidently stumbled into the world of vegans and animal rights activists and the deep drama that it entails when I was Washington Cattlemens President (much more on this in tomorrows post). I always knew this element was out there, I just didnt know how batshit crazy much of it was. I suppose since I am offering reasons why I don't engage them I should also point out a few advantages of being aware of this cult.

1. They are highly amusing! I mean who knew that steers (a male bovine that has had his testicles removed) could have babies? Facebook names were removed to protect the innocent....er I mean the stupid and because they seldom use a real name anyway.

2. They are really gullible and will often post a meme or picture in which they have zero idea of what it represents and think it advances their drama. Like this newborn, healthy, normal calf that has just stood for the first time and is still covered in amniotic fluid. But, but it is sick from GMOs! Buhahaha Raise your Triple, Venti, GMO free, soy milk, no foam, Latte in protest

So, reason #5 why I dont engage them. I actually SUPPORT their individual food choice. Often I don't agree with their reasoning for their choice but it is THEIR choice. I think it is great that food is so plentiful in the first world that people have so many food choices. Many people will tell you the food system in the USA and much of the first world is broken. While I agree it isn't perfect it is very efficient, very inexpensive and the choices are wide and AMAZING. When a grocery store in a town the size of Othello, Washington USA population 7634 has a freezer 6 feet tall, 4 levels, and with a linear distance of 47 feet (conservatively estimated by cowboy boot strides) of NOTHING but frozen pizza choices it shows just how wide and diverse our food choices are. Hell, I will look next time, there may even be some vegan pizza choices in that freezer! Yes, maybe it isnt all 100% healthy but I think a few people in many parts of the world would just love to have a shot at trying to decide between a Red Baron, Tonys, DiGiorno, Tombstone, Jacks or Great Value pizza instead of the 2.69 beetles and a golf ball sized lump of rice they have eaten the last umpteen meals. Isn't a huge and cheap food supply a wonderful way to allow us all to have so many food choices? A full belly, in a food secure part of the world sure makes it convenient to be a food preacher full of fire and brimstone as well as allowing judgment of those that make a different food choice from your own! I could be wrong but I am pretty confident that PETA doesn't have a whole lot of Ethiopian addresses on their mailing list of supporters and donors.Now when I say I don't engage animal rights or vegan activists that doesn't mean I wont "accidentally" blow a few Copenhagen grains in their eye now and again for fun. (For those that don't know Copenhagen in the eye burns hotter than an animal rights activist half way through a tofu burger and learning "Tofu" was the name of the cow that provided the delicious burger)

Again, freedom and choice are such wonderful things!

Thank you all that made it this far. I appreciate all my readers, even vegans and animal rights activists. Remember all pictures can be viewed full size by clicking on them. Now if you will excuse me, I probably have an inbox full of anger that I have to laugh at and not respond to. Heh! And probably a few reasonable people that have some questions about how, what and why I do what I do for a living and how they can exercise their food choices and enjoy safe, wholesome and nutritious beef for their families. Todays cowman music selection is from the venerable Waylon Jennings singing "Working without a net"

Well, unless of course you are a dolphin hunter in Taiji, Japan then a net is probably preferable.

"Up on the high wire, I hear the crowd begin to call, some want you to fly, some want to see you fall"